Writing Prompt

The last month has been hectic. My pay-the-bills job has been keeping me busy, plus other things outside of work have got me to the point of not wanting to do any writing when I finally have spare time.

I know that’s not the attitude to have, but it’s just been exhausting. That said, I think things are finally easing up a little which is giving me time to think about my next project.

It’s still a little too early in the game to give away too much, other than to say it may make me a target for religious nut-bags. It’s a humorous tale of God and the Devil, Christ and few other family members and the havoc they cause.

Other than that I’ve been spending a lot of time over on Reddit as a way of not doing any writing. The Writing Prompts subreddit is one of my favourite places to hang out, reading all the prompt-inspired responses. I’ve posted a few of my own over the time, none that have really taken off until the one I posted the other day.

It’s been snapped up by people all over the world, including countries I’ve never reached before. Sales have slowed a little since its initial release but I’m still seeing lots of people grabbing copies through Kindle Unlimited, and even the odd paperback copy being sold. Having people read and enjoy something I’ve written really makes my day.

That’s all for now. Back to procrastinating …er… working on my next book. 🙂

I’ve really been having a lot of fun with the Writing Prompts of late (as you’ve probably noticed from the plethora of blog posts recently). Here’s a quickie I wrote on my lunch break.

I’m enjoying them because they’re giving me something to do while I wait and see how my KindleScout campaign pans out (more about this at the end if you’re interested).

The Prompt:

[WP] A child wants to be a supervillain when they grow up, rather than a superhero.

The Story:

“I’m sorry, you want to be a what?” Berserko Fantastico said to his young daughter, Natalie.

At only seven years old she was already a handful, and in hindsight he should have noticed the signs earlier. In the past three months alone she’d designed and built three doomsday devices and attempted to sell them on Craigslist to various evildoers.

If he hadn’t been home at the time then Evil Incorporated, The Diabolical Duo, and the Fellowship of the Fiendish would all now be the proud owners of her handiwork. Read the rest of this entry »

A short story this time (just shy of 5,000 words) from a Reddit Writing Prompt. Written as 2nd person (a perspective I rarely read and up to now haven’t written in)… but it suited the “game” theme as many old point-and-click and text-adventure type games would employ this style. It’s written as if they’re scenes in a game.

The Prompt:

[WP] You are the protagonist of a point-and-click game.

The Story: Maze Quest

Standing South of the Mansion

You are standing in the once manicured grounds to the south of a white stately mansion, but what have now overgrown from neglect. The mansion has stood abandoned since the former owner died many years ago and now, as the sole heir to the Stackson family fortune, the mansion and the acres she stands on are now all yours.

As you survey the lands to the west, the legendary hedge maze that has formed part of the scenery for over four-hundred years fills your view. To the east stand the burial grounds with mausoleums and monuments to the long dead.

Knowing that every window and door were padlocked and boarded over to deter thieves, you brought along with a rucksack which contains: Read the rest of this entry »

I know I only just posted some flash fiction less than an hour ago… but I couldn’t resist this one. Again, from Writing Prompts on Reddit.

The prompt:

[WP] In a far-distant future, children of age are paraded en masse to an ancient relic which is prophesized to only accept the touch of a chosen one. Sadly, it’s just a locked smart-device.

The Story:

The children marched single file along the wide promenade. Crowds of people, twenty rows deep lined both sides, cheering and waving to the little heroes in the hope that one might unlock the relic lost to time.

Long ago a seer known as Quatre-Chan had prophesized that a child of ten years of age would unlock the device and we would know true wisdom. So many years had passed, so many children had attempted to unlock the secrets of the relic, but none had succeeded.

[WP] You’re usual D&D group was a no show for your campaign, jokingly you wish for interesting players to play with… That’s when 3 people from history appear at your table complete with character sheets.

The Story:

“For the last time, no, Julius, you can’t cast magic missile,” I said as I rubbed my temples, thinking that perhaps wishing for these idiots was a bad idea. Maybe if I wished hard enough my usual gang would show up and I could kick these guys out.

The first postcard was strange. A cityscape photo of Phoenix, Arizona on one side and a hand-written note “Thinking of you in Phoenix,” on the other. No signature or name, only my address in Trenton, New Jersey.

At first I thought maybe someone had sent it to the wrong person until I got another less than a week later. This one had both my name and my address.

“Missing you from Montana,” it read, but still no details of the sender. The picture was a landscape of beautiful, windswept mountains. I made a note to visit there one day if I had the chance.

Another week passed by and with it came another postcard.

“You left a hole in my heart as big as Texas,” again with no name. The picture on the front was the flag of Texas.

That was a little more specific. Was it someone I’d dumped in the past? I’d been through a few recently. My standards have always been high, and I’m known to dump people I’m seeing for the shallowest of reasons. I’m not going to apologize for being picky.